#79 - Hurricane Alley - Sandy's synopsis

Hurricane Alley is the re-spawning of Cafe Nola and attempts to bring the cuisine of New Orleans to Philadelphia. They have a medium sized restaurant with bar and table seating. The draft list is short, the bottle list is longer and, surprisingly, the wine list is longest. They even have a draft pouring system for the wine and a whole wine-cellar type room at the back. They should advertise this vino side of them a little more.

My drink choice for the night, however, was from their short cocktail list. I decided to go with, the famous, Hurricane - I had never had one and figured this was as good an opportunity as any to try it.

It was mediocre. I think it has great potential though - maybe with some fresh squeezed juices.

Another surprising thing, to me, was the presence of alligator sliders on the menu. The fact that I found that surprising clearly means I know nothing about the fauna and flora of the New Orleans region. I did know, however, that I definitely wanted to try those sliders.

Alligator meat had a mild beef-like flavour to start. I really enjoyed this phase of the experience. As I continued to eat the meat, a more fishy flavour, akin to tuna, became more prominent. I did not enjoy this phase of the experience. Alligator meat reminded me a little of frog legs, which I consider to be a mixture of the texture and mild flavour of chicken with a fishy overtone. Similarly, alligator to me had the texture and mild flavour of beef coupled with a fishy overtone. 

We also ordered the New Orleans vampire wings which were really good. They had a nice crispy outer skin and a sweet garlic chilly sauce on top.

For the entree I had a the jamabalaya with pasta.

The jamabalaya was spicier than I expected but I was happy about that. It went really well over pasta and the bread was a good compliment to the meal.

In summary, Hurricane Alley was better than I expected. However, I've never had creole cooking straight from the alligators' mouth in New Orleans before. I am, therefore, exactly like people who haven't eaten Indian food right from the tigers' mouth in India and so, have no idea how good it can get. Hurricane Alley probably loves people like me. 

 

I do have to mention that I did have a little of a tummy upset the next day. I do have a overly sensitive digestive system though, so I wouldn't dissuade anyone else from going. I, however, probably wont return here - the food wasn't good enough to warrant the tummy distress.

Hurricane Alley

340 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19147

215-238-1512

#78 - Jon's Bar and Grille - Sandy's synopsis

I know very little about the three stooges. They were referenced a couple of times in Farscape, which are the only times I ever paid attention to them. So it is safe to say, the fact that Jons' bar and grille was Larry Fine's birth house, was not something that drew me to the place. I've lived next to this bar for years and not had the urge to go in.  

The blog overrides all urges or lack thereofs and so it was that I finally entered this place. Its quite spacious on the inside which is good, because it can get pretty full on the weekends. On a weeknight however, the place was a little empty. They also have deck and patio seating which makes it a popular spot in the summer.

The first thing one looks at, of course, is the draft list. Jons' has a very nice draft list with some great craft brews. I had a wonderful sour beer that I hadn't had before. Their menu is rather standard for a bar - appetizers, sandwiches, burgers some entrees. 

We decided to start with the nachos, which weren't terribly exciting but also not terrible. 

It had all the fixins' and we got ours with pulled pork - it would be very hard for this dish to taste bad. One nice thing of note is that Jons' is very accommodating of a gluten-free diet. We asked if the nachos could be prepared in a separate pan so as to avoid contamination and they said that was no problem. 

I ordered a burger for my entree which was pretty good. It came with a very healthy amount of cheese which I appreciated.  

However I have to say, the star of the show was the fries.

Besides being delicious on the day off, these fries were SO GOOD reheated. Fries that are also tasty the next day are such a rarity!

So, as far as Jons' bar and grille goes - come in for a piece of random celebrity history and stay for the beer and fries., 

Jons' Bar and Grille

300 South Street

Philadelphia, PA 19147

215-592-1390

#78 Jon's Bar and Grille - Sam's synopsis

The fun fact about Jon's Bar and Grille is that Larry Fine of the 3 Stooges was born in the building that now houses it. So there is a nice mural of him playing the violin above the restaurant - apparently when he was an infant he spilled some caustic reagent on himself (his dad was a jeweler and used it to differentiate between real and fake gold), so in order to strengthen his arm muscles again his parents had him take up the violin. The more you know! But also makes me wonder why the restaurant is called Jon's and not Larry's... oh well. Also a bit surprising is the lack of 3 Stooges references (although I'm only a very casual viewer of the show, so they would probably go over my head anyways) - all I saw was a burger on the menu and a couple of posters here and there. But I almost think this works to their benefit, since over-the-top references would come across as too cheesy. 

I've actually been to Jon's once before when my mom and her then-boyfriend were in town for Thanksgiving a few years ago. Her ex was a big fan of the 3 Stooges so I thought it'd be a fun place to go. When we were getting ready to go here and I told someone this, they asked me how it was. My only response was "I don't remember" - meaning it probably wasn't terrible but also wasn't outstanding. And that's exactly how I felt this time around.

The restaurant itself has a nice layout - plenty of tables downstairs, an ample bar, outdoor seating for when the weather is nice, picnic tables upstairs for a more relaxed dining experience. It was a cold, rainy Wednesday night, so we were the only people in the restaurant save for a couple of stragglers at the bar until two more tables arrived. I've walked by this place in the summer and it does seem pretty hoppin', probably because of the great patio seating they have. I was impressed with their beer selection - a solid 20 or so on tap, and they must have had some recent event with Terrapin because there were 6 or 7 of their beers specifically. I elected for the Moo-Hoo, a delicious chocolate milk stout. Not that I'm complaining, because it's always nice to have craft beer from other areas available in the city. But they also had quite a few drafts that were local and/or ones that I don't see often in other bars, and a nice selection of bottles - my second draft was Jon's Jawn, which was brewed by Bullfrog (from Williamsport, PA) in collaboration with the bar. It was a little strange (brewed with merlot grapes, raspberries, and cocoa nibs. The cocoa nibs didn't do it for me, but I still enjoyed the beer). Add to that a bunch of rare bottles along the walls and Jon's seems to be a hidden gem of a bar with decent prices for good beer. Either that or I've turned into a terrible beer snob in the sense that I'm surprised this place has a good beer list. 

The food, on the other hand, wasn't stellar. We ordered nachos, which were covered in nacho cheese, green peppers, beans, and a little bit of spice from some jalapenos. They were satisfying my hunger, but the nacho cheese was a bit of a turn off for me - it tasted too artificial. I ordered the Santa Fe panini - blackened chicken, avocado, bacon, and cheddar cheese. Everything tasted a little bland and dry, but my side salad + feta vinaigrette were pretty tasty. It's not the worst food I've ever had, but nothing to write home about either. In the end, I'd return to Jon's - but just to grab some drinks off their fantastic beer menu.

Jon's Bar and Grille

300 South Street

Philadelphia, PA

(215) 592-1390

#77 - Primo Hoagies - Sandy's synopsis

As someone once said:

"I hate hoagies. I like bars" ~Anonymous

Primo Hoagies

326 South Street

Philadelphia PA 19106

215-923-3101

#77 Primo Hoagies - Sam's synopsis

I may be a bit biased in this review. Not because of any predisposition towards Primo or hoagies (even though Sandya somehow was convinced that I hated hoagies... false. I really like hoagies), but because I was absolutely starving by the time we arrived. It was President's Day, which I did not get as a holiday at work, but the rest of the businesses in my office park did - meaning the cafeteria was closed. This in itself is not a big deal, but having only been working for 2 weeks at my new job, I was unaware of said closure and was clearly not prepared. So I did not eat anything all day save for a Snickers bar from the vending machine. Needless to say, by the time we arrived at Primo's, I was ravenous. I'll also just mention that I beat Sandya there, even though she lives right around the corner.

In any case, you can order a hoagie and also enjoy a drink, because Primo's doubles as a bar. The inside looks very much like a modest sports bar, with a few flat screen TVs playing various sports games (or in our case, the Grammys on mute). Being a cold, rainy Monday night, there were only a few other patrons around, who were mostly just there to drink beer. I went to the back and quickly ordered the Suprimo: prosciutto, mozzarella, and roasted red peppers. I added lettuce and onions and decided on the primo size (essentially ordering the Suprimo primo), and grabbed some waffle cut chips to indulge on while I impatiently awaited for my food. Not because they were slow - service was fast and friendly - but because I was starving. Dear DELIcious Bites: this is how you make a sandwich with prosciutto on it. It had the right ratio of meat:cheese:veggies. The prosciutto was nice and salty, the mozzarella balanced said saltiness out well, and the veggies tasted fresh. Solid bread for housing all the constituents of my hoagie too. What can I say? Primo's is a chain, but a good one. I'd grab a hoagie here again even if I hadn't spent the entire day subsisting off of a Snickers bar.

Primo Hoagies

326 South Street

Philadelphia, PA

(215) 923-3101

#76 The Boyler Room - Sam's synopsis

Well, Sandya and I failed and attempted to go to Hurricane Alley when it was closed (at least it's not closed for good), so you'll have to wait a little longer for that review. Luckily, the Boyler Room was open and the rest of our company was fine stopping there for the evening, so we were still able to get our fill of drinks and bar food. Turns out Mondays are free poker tournament night, so there were a couple of rousing games of poker behind us (Texas Hold 'Em maybe, I wasn't really paying attention). The group of people playing poker all seemed like they had been there before and were having a great time, so having a loyal fanbase is always a plus in my book. The bar itself is pretty low-key: pretty divey vibe, but that's a good thing. Cheap beer and food, plus the divey atmosphere might lead you to believe that we were in for an unpleasant surprise, but it was in fact quite the opposite. The draft beer list was pretty extensive with a lot of variety. The food was really tasty and didn't leave me feeling like shit afterwards. 

To start, Sandya and I ordered some gravy fries while waiting for the others to arrive. When they came out, the gravy was served on the side in two plastic containers. At first I was a little disgruntled - why didn't they pour the gravy on top?! But if they had done that, I realized, the fries would have gotten too soggy and been less enjoyable. Maybe that means the gravy was too thin in some people's minds, but it was delightfully salty and aromatic and really hit the spot on a cold winter night. When the rest of our crew arrived, we ordered some more appetizers, including meat- and gluten-free nachos (nachos might be the best and easiest dietary restriction snack ever... except if you're lactose intolerant). I also really enjoyed the nachos. The chips were sturdy enough to handle all the toppings piled on them, and there was a good balance of cheese, veggies/salsa, and beans. And they did a pretty good job of spreading the toppings out evenly - I hate hate hate it when you get nachos and only the three chips on top have everything and then every other chip has just a smidgen of melted cheese. UGH. 

At this point I was pretty full, as was the rest of our party, so instead of Erin and I splitting french onion soup and me getting a grilled cheese, I decided to just order a chicken caesar salad. I don't know why but I've been craving caesar salad a lot lately. I used to eat it all the time as my free meal when I worked at a restaurant in high school and then got sick of it, so maybe it's finally reemerging as a food I want to eat. In any case, it was a large salad but nothing special. Pretty standard. All in all, I'd return to the Boyler Room to grab some bar food and a beer for the evening.

The Boyler Room
328 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 413-8294

#76 - Boyler Room - Sandy's synopsis

Boyler Room is your quiet neighbourhood dive pub with a great selection of beer on tap and solid food (for the price). The ground floor has a cool Philly ambiance with posters of movies, that are about or based in Philly, on the walls. The night we went was apparently poker night, which seemed to draw in a few regulars. Its always nice to see regulars in a bar - I feel like it makes the place more homey.

We started with some beer and I was impressed with some of the craft brews on their draft list. I got an oyster stout (can't remember which) which was delicious. We also ordered some gravy  fries and nachos as appetizers. The fries were the perfect width (for me), well salted and peppered with some thick "probably from a can" gravy on the side. It really hit the spot. Your food may be made with cheap ingredients but it doesn't have to taste bad. 

The nachos were satisfying too. They came out fresh from the oven on an hot plate and with solid, basic ingredients.

For my main course I ordered the jalapeno mac and cheese and I had no complaints there. Nothing seemed to be made from scratch but it was assembled very well, baked with a lot of cheese and breadcrumbs on top and made for a good meal. 

All in all, this place is a great dive bar with a good beer selection and some affordable and delicious bar food. It reminded me of Manny Browns a couple blocks behind - both being great dive bars to go to on the east side of South street.

Boyler Room

328 South Street

Phila PA 19106

215-413-8294